


Bereavement

by Meduseld



Category: DCU, The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Dealing with the coma, Feelings, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Implications of WestAllen sort of, Pre-Series, joe's awesome parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-19
Updated: 2017-06-19
Packaged: 2018-11-16 02:46:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11244732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meduseld/pseuds/Meduseld
Summary: "Hey, have you seen the..? Oh.”





	Bereavement

The house is too damn quiet.

It doesn’t matter that Barry was no longer living in it when lightning struck him (God, _lightning_ ).

The West house is full of reminders that Barry should be here, walking around, using the washing machine and kicking Joe’s ass at Jeopardy. And Family Feud. And every other game show on TV, the only thing on when they stumbled in from a late shift for leftovers.

The initial horror of the accident, of the coma, has faded into a grating routine, of sitting in a cold grey room with a Barry that’s there without being there at all. The move to STAR labs has helped, the room is brighter, and the Ramon kid reminds him of Barry without making him feel like he’ll never get Barry back at all.

There’s also Thawne, no, Eddie, who doesn’t complain about Joe’s distance or absence or insistence that they have lunch in STAR labs’ waiting room, just in case.

But that doesn’t mean it’s not tremendously hard to go about every day with the image of Barry’s face at eleven years old, wide and scared but _trusting_ , behind his eyelids. Joe had promised to take care of him.

As it is, he’s searching for his damned lasagna pan, because it’s missing and it’s the only thing keeping him from having bourbon for lunch instead. And dinner too.

The front door opens and closes, and Joe turns “Hey, have you seen the..? Oh.”

There’s Iris, with enough tears in her eyes for both of them. “Baby” he says and pulls her into a hug. “Tell me he’s gonna wake up. Please”.

Behind her shoulder, Joe can see one of Barry’s sweatshirts, bunched up on the couch.

“Of course, baby.  Like he could stay away from you”

Joe’s hoping, anyway.


End file.
